While at the podium, Tuberville acknowledged Babcock and UC President Santa Ono seated nearby.

“I would not be here today if these two guys right here hadn’t said, ‘Coach, we want to give you every possible avenue to have the most success that you possibly can have,’” Tuberville said.

Tuberville, the 58-year-old former Texas Tech coach, made his name in the rugged Southeastern Conference at Mississippi and Auburn. Tuberville is used to the big time.

“We want all our athletes to have the best they possibly can have,” Tuberville said, also mentioning UC sports besides football. “These two guys promised me that we would do that.”

Tuberville did not elaborate, but UC clearly faces major issues.

Along with Nippert Stadium, the uncertain status of the Big East Conference is another concern. UC’s struggle to find a suitable conference home was believed to influence former coach Butch Jones’ move to Tennessee in the SEC.

UC failed in recent attempts to leave the faltering Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference. The most recent Big East departures include Rutgers (to the Big Ten) and Louisville (to the ACC).

Tuberville, in three decades of coaching, has learned to go with the flow. Tuberville said coaches and players are concerned mainly with just winning football games, regardless of the circumstances.

“That’s something we can’t control,” Tuberville said, when asked about the Big East situation. “We want to put our best foot forward every day. We’re going to make sure that anybody would be proud to have the University of Cincinnati in whatever conference is out there.”

Before Jones left, he was in discussions with UC to re-do his contract. One stipulation was that Nippert Stadium would be renovated, with the cost estimated at $60 million to $70 million by University Architect Beth McGrew.

Babcock said hiring a big-name coach was not specifically designed to make UC more attractive to other leagues or spur donations for Nippert. But if the Tuberville name helps, all the better.

“He’s a great promoter, one of the most laid-back CEO-type leaders I’ve ever seen,” Babcock said. “But he can be fiery too. I like it. He’s our guy, and I believe in him.”